


a rose so sweet

by spadebrigade



Series: fortune [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Background Relationships, Bad Poetry, College, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma Friendship, House Party, Humor, KageHina - Freeform, Kageyama Tobio is Bad at Feelings, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot, POV Alternating, Poetry, Texting, a poor representation of a creative writing class
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23464498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spadebrigade/pseuds/spadebrigade
Summary: “Hinata,” Kageyama said with that wrinkle between his eyebrows, “where have you been?”“Uhm.” It took him a moment to register the question, alcohol clouding his system. “In the kitchen! Why?”“Nothing. It’s just—you’ve been gone for a while.” Kageyama gave him a once-over, as though inspecting him for missing limbs.“Well, I’m here now.” He beamed. “I love this song! Let’s go dance.”///Hinata has to come up with a poem for his creative writing class and gets to thinking about what he loves, and WHO he loves. And then he goes to a party and (almost) ruins everything.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Series: fortune [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1657177
Comments: 21
Kudos: 217





	a rose so sweet

**Author's Note:**

> hello~ this is a one shot based off my kuroken work, “a fortune i couldn’t foresee.” **TW for mild invasion of privacy (reading a personal notebook)**
> 
> the artwork is by the fabulous ley [(@tsukkishookt)](https://www.instagram.com/p/B-p5ux2gVPM/)
> 
> please enjoy~

“I don’t get poetry…” Hinata whined, laying his head across his desk in frustration, hair smudging the graphite overlaying his creative writing journal. 

“Why would you go through all that work just to say your feelings in a confusing way? Like saying that someone is ‘like a rose’...” He wondered out loud to himself, glaring at the collection of poems that he was supposed to be reading. “What’s so good about roses? I’d rather have a meat bun than a flower…”

But then again, he probably wasn’t one to talk about words, because the most-used words in his vocabulary were “BWAAAH” and “boom pow.” And, according to Tsukishima, they didn’t count as words. But what did he know anyway?

...Probably a lot, actually. He got As in most of his classes, including the stupid “Intro to Creative Writing” that Hinata was taking now.

[Text to: The Great Dino Boi] tsukishimaaaaaa (>.<)

Tsukishima would help him. Though he could be pretty icy sometimes, he had learned some patience from years of tutoring Hinata and had become pretty reliable.

Almost immediately, he received a reply: 

**[Text - 7:02 pm] no**

“What?!” 

[Text] you don’t even know what i was gonna say!!!!!

**[Text - 7:04 pm] you were going to ask me for help with homework, weren’t you?**

[Text] …...maybe

**[Text - 7:07 pm] i’m busy. ask kageyama.**

[Text] i don’t wanna fail (╬ Ò﹏Ó)

**[Text - 7:08 pm] not my problem.**

Hinata wailed in frustration, immediately going to change Tsukishima’s contact name to “Stingyshima”. He tried Yamaguchi, and was also declined, although much more politely. Which left him no choice:

[Text to: Milk Addict] heyyy kageyama (^w^)

**[Text - 7:13 pm] What do you want?**

[Text] why do i have to want something?!

**[Text - 7:13 pm] You only use “heyyy” with 3 Ys when you want something.**

[Text] ...okay maybe i do want something

**[Text - 7:14 pm] What is it dumbass?**

[Text] so mean (T_T) 

[Text] do you know anything about poetry?

**[Text - 7:15 pm] Why would I know anything about poetry?**

[Text] idk!! i have no one else to ask

**[Text - 7:15 pm] Just facetime me, idiot**

Hinata’s heart fluttered. He didn’t know why, but he always got nervous at the idea of talking to Kageyama on the phone. It wasn’t something that happened often; they were together in person most of the time, or otherwise texted like they were doing now. Kageyama’s voice always sounded different on the phone, somehow. Deeper. He almost wondered if Kageyama did it on purpose.

His fingers obligingly dialed Kageyama’s contact. It rang for a few seconds, until Kageyama’s face appeared onscreen. His face was wrinkled into mild annoyance, as usual. He lay on his bed, resting on his elbows, a textbook propped up in front of him. “What’s your homework?”

Hinata sat up reluctantly, pulling out the paper with the assignment instructions. “I’m supposed to write a poem.”

Kageyama’s eyes trailed to the ceiling. His gaze turned intense; Hinata knew that he was thinking. “Just write a haiku.”

“I caaaan’t,” he whined, flailing the paper around. “It needs to be at least fourteen lines. And it actually has to be good or she’ll fail me.”

“So write five haikus and put them together,” Kageyama offered.

Hinata wrinkled his nose, shaking his head. “I don’t think that’s gonna work.”

“Well then why’d you call me, dumbass?” Kageyama sighed, head flopping onto his shoulder.

“You told me to call you!”

“I meant, what do you want me to do for you? I’m shit at that stuff too.”

He propped his elbow onto his desk, chin resting on his hand. “I dunno...Talking to you always helps me.”

“You make no sense,” Kageyama grumbled. Was something wrong with Hinata’s screen or was that a blush creeping on Kageyama’s cheeks? “Does the poem have to be about something specific?”

“Um.” Hinata looked over the paper again. “No, she said we could pick.”

“Don’t people usually write about, uhm, love or something?” Kageyama asked, gaze shifting to the side, probably distracted by something, Hinata figured.

“Yeah, they’re so boring, though. Lots of, like, flowers. And birds.” He said, scanning pages of his poetry book.

“Then just write about volleyball.”

He sighed, running a hand through his already wild hair. “I already wrote about volleyball for all the other assignments. The professor is gonna think I’m crazy. Or just straight up hate me.”

“What about meat buns?”

Hinata nearly coughed; Kageyama knew him too well. “I—I like other things, too, y’know!”

Kageyama smirked and the sight of it made Hinata’s heart ripple in his chest. “Like what?”

“Like…” He stared hard at the overflowing trash basket in the corner of his dorm room. His mind filled with images of Kageyama during volleyball games, the intensity of the blue as his eyes zeroed in on the ball, hitting the toss perfectly to Hinata’s palm— “I, I dunno but I promise there’s plenty!” Why the heck was he thinking about all that?!

“You’re just embarrassed ‘cause your head’s empty.”

“Shut up!”

His embarrassment only earned him a smug laugh from Kageyama. “Okay, I think you’re done helping me! Bye.”

“Bye.” Kageyama stuck his tongue out before hanging up. 

Hinata was tempted to call back, just to return the favor. But instead:

[Text to: Milk Addict] >:p

**[Text - 7:20 pm] Go write your poem, Shakespeare**

“Hmph!” He resisted chucking his phone to the side of his desk. Instead he took a deep breath, returning his attention to his notebook. Kageyama made him so mad, he could just go GWAH and BAM BAM BAM.

...He could use that, right? This time, he called Yachi (who he probably should have started with but he didn’t like bothering her), and with her tips, he wrote:

_You turn my heart into a war zone.  
Every time I see you, it’s like  
BANG BANG BANG  
And I can't win.  
_

She said that it was really good because it had “poetic devices” and blah blah blah but he got so bored while she was explaining it that he zoned out.

“Uh huh! Thanks, Yachi.” They hung up not long after that because Yachi had a study group to lead.

Four lines was only a start, but he had a whole week to write the rest. Just as he thought he’d try to crank out a few more, his phone buzzed.

**[Text from: Milk Addict] Done yet?**

[Text] no!! poetry is hard

**[Text - 8:05 pm] Did you at least start?**

[Text] yes bakageyama (҂ `з´ )

**[Text - 8:06 pm] Oh?**

**[Text - 8:06 pm] What did you write about then?**

Oh no. There was no way he was telling Kageyama that the poem was about him. Even though it wasn’t technically a lovey poem, he would definitely die if his best friend knew that he could get all worked up by just the thought of him. It would be like losing to Kageyama in a really weird way.

[Text] none of your business!!

[Text] why is your auto-capitalization still on?

**[Text - 8:07 pm] None of your business**

[Text] >:p!!

**[Text - 8:08 pm] Stop sticking your tongue out at me dumbass!**

Just to spite Kageyama, he opened up snapchat to send a picture of himself sticking his tongue out angrily. He thought he’d won this round until he received one back of Kageyama’s middle finger. He groaned in frustration, wondering why he bothered to talk to Kageyama when things pretty much always ended the same way. He’d end up either mad or flustered, like a middle schooler with a bad crush.

Wait, no—nothing like that!!! He didn’t have a crush on Kageyama! That’d be gross, he decided. Stupid, annoying Kageyama with his super precise tosses, his perfect silky black hair always in place and his abs peeking out from under his jersey—

“No no no!” Hinata yelled to no one, hitting his head into his notebook to stop these crazy thoughts. But wait—his notebook.

He immediately sat upright, staring at the lines he’d written. Then, sticking out his tongue, he picked up his pencil:

 _You shoot and set me on fire._  
Thinking about you  
Makes my skin burn.

And it was true! The back of his neck was prickling with heat right now in total annoyance, both at Kageyama and himself. But then a sense of relief helped to cool his nerves. At least he was halfway done now. So he’d been right—Kageyama did help him, in a way.

That bastard! There was no way Hinata was going to tell him, though. He’d just be even more smug.

“Shoyou, are you okay?” Lev asked, opening his bedroom door with concern. “I heard yelling.”

He jumped, looking over at his roommate. “Gee Lev, you scared me!”

“‘Gee’?” Lev snickered. “You know you can just say ‘fuck’.”

“Anyway!” He nearly squealed, feeling himself redden for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour. “I’m fine! Thanks!”

He just couldn’t catch a break.

The next day, Hinata was still poring over his unfinished poem, attempting to work on it whenever he got bored of his other assignments (math was terrible and writing a paper was torture).

“I don’t know why you’re still working,” Lev said, laying upside on the couch, his long legs up in the air. “I gave up like an hour ago.” His textbook was on the floor, the pages still spread open.

“I have no idea how you’re going to pass your classes,” Hinata said, squinting at him. “You know, your massive height might help you on the court but it won’t be worth anything when you have exams!”

“Yes it will. That makes it easier to look over people’s shoulders at their answers.”

Hinata gaped. “Lev!”

Lev broke off into a laugh, shaking the whole couch.

“I’m telling Yaku.”

Lev froze immediately. “Don’t you dare.”

Hinata had no intention of actually doing it, but he lifted his cellphone menacingly. Before he could make another move, Lev pounced on him. 

“Lev! Hey!” He flailed his limbs, but the attack didn’t last long.

“Ooh? What’s this?”

“Don’t go through my stuff!” Hinata screeched, launching himself right at him.

“No, no,” Lev said, easily pushing him off, “Bokuto is having a party this weekend. We have to go!”

“Let me see,” he insisted, climbing up the side of the couch to look over Lev’s shoulder. Sure enough, there was a text from Bokuto at the top of the screen.

**[Text from: bOVOkuto] Hey hey hey! Party at my place on Saturday~ Come on down ya filthy animals! [image attached - party flyer]**

“I don’t know...I heard Bokuto’s parties can get kinda crazy.” Hinata had heard stories of plenty drunken mistakes in that frat house, including one rendezvous that had nearly ended in a police car chase.

“If you don’t want to, then I’ll just go without you!” Lev declared, finally handing back his phone. “I’m not missing out on one of the best parties we’ll probably ever have the chance of going to.”

Hinata frowned in distaste. What was the point in him going? He was a total lightweight, and it wasn’t like Kenma or Kageyama would want to go. Sure, he could probably catch up with a lot of cool people there, but there wouldn’t be much point when everyone would get wasted before they could have fun properly. (He wasn’t opposed to getting drunk, but he’d seen Lev come home and empty all of the alcohol from his stomach and into their toilet—from the wrong end, too, and it didn’t seem like the greatest thing in the world to him.)

Hinata had already forgotten all about the invitation when he met up with Kageyama after practice the next morning. And, to his surprise, Kageyama sheepishly brought up the party, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders.

Hinata looked up at him, wide-eyed. “Do you want to go?”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind going if you go. Besides, you need someone to watch over you in case you get drunk.”

“I don’t need a keeper!” He exclaimed, jumping to hit Kageyama, who ducked.

“Yes you do! Besides…” His eyes trailed to the ground. “...Were you planning on going?”

Hinata paused, uncurling his fists. He’d never been to a real college party, and Kageyama definitely hadn’t, either. He hadn’t been planning on going but...it couldn’t hurt, right? And if things got too crazy, then he could just leave with Kageyama to watch a movie or something.

“Yeah! We can go together.”

Kageyama’s shoulders relaxed and he nodded, exhaling what sounded like a relieved breath. Hinata guessed that Kageyama hadn’t wanted to venture into unknown territory by himself. 

“You better not take too long to get ready, dumbass.”

“When do I ever do that?!”

“When you try to fix your unfixable hair.”

“Kageyamaaa! So mean.” He knocked his elbow into Kageyama’s, who returned it, more lightly.

It wasn’t weird for them to roughhouse, though they didn’t do it as much as in high school. He remembered how Kageyama’s foot always used to find his butt when he made mistakes during games, but now, the worst Kageyama ever did was lightly jab him in the side, maybe tickle his feet. And he gave up every time Hinata pounced on him, all flustered. Those arguments were easier to win these days.

By the time the weekend came, Hinata still hadn’t finished his poem. He agonized over it, writing lines, crossing them out, rewriting. After updating Yachi on his lack of progress twice, she suggested that maybe he should take a break and come back to it later. After his attempt to rhyme “flame” with “lame”, he was starting to agree with her. Maybe he could find some inspiration at the party.

He was trying to tame his mass of orange fluff when he heard Kageyama’s unmistakable double-tap knock on the door.

“C-coming!” he said, launching the bottle of hair product across the room, letting it fall to the floor with a clatter. He opened the door, ready to greet Kageyama.

“Hey—” He paused, blinking as he looked over him. Kageyama wore a pale blue button-down shirt that complimented his eyes, and the way that the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows only highlighted the muscles of his biceps. But Hinata totally didn’t care, obviously.

“What is, idiot?” Kageyama said, shifting under Hinata’s gaze.

“Nothing.” He shook his head quickly.

Kageyama fiddled with his collar, looking down at himself. “...Should I change?”

“No, no!” Hinata insisted, pulling him inside. “You look good _. I_ should probably change, though.” He looked down at his shirt, which sported a cartoon flamingo. It definitely looked dumb now.

“Are you guys leaving now?” Lev asked, exiting his bedroom. “Everyone knows that you should show up to a party at least an hour late.” He cocked his head. “You’re not wearing that, are you?”

“I’m changing!” Hinata exclaimed, pushing Kageyama into his bedroom. “Kageyama, help me pick something.” He rifled through his closet, throwing shirts to the floor. 

“What about that one?” Kageyama asked, pointing to one hanging in his closet, black sleeves peeking out of the array of shirts.

“This one?” Hinata pulled it out, revealing a huge Mickey Mouse face on the front.

“...Do all of your clothes have cartoons on them?”

“No! But..maybe half of them,” he mumbled, considering it. “Well, it’s clean, so I’m wearing it.” He didn’t want to spend half the night picking out clothes.

He took off his flamingo shirt, throwing it to the floor, before pulling on the Mickey Mouse one.

“...”

“....”

They both stared. The shirt was too long on him everywhere, looking almost like a dress with how it hung over his thighs and gave him sweater paws. 

“Did you—”

“I haven’t worn it yet.” Hinata interrupted the question, pulling at the shirt even though it didn’t need to look any longer. 

They both continued staring at each other, until Kageyama finally looked away. Why was Kageyama being so weird? The shirt couldn’t possibly look that bad on him. “I—it’s the style! I mean, these days. It’s cool.” He insisted, looking at how it fell over his ripped skinny jeans. It seemed Kanye-esque enough to him.

“You didn’t try it on before buying it, did you?” Kageyama asked, the familiar undercurrent of irritation in his voice.

Of course he hadn’t! He just saw the oversized shirt, that it was black (his color) and that it had a giant Mickey Mouse on it and he’d been immediately sold. He wasn’t going to say or do anything to let Kageyama know that he was right. 

“..A-anyways, let’s leave!” He insisted, shoving his phone into his back pocket. 

He felt the heat in his face finally begin to die down as they walked outside, the cool night air settling against their skin. A bundle of nerves, Hinata’s form of movement was a combination of hopping and skipping as he babbled to Kageyama, wondering who would be at the party, what kind of food they would have, and do you think someone will actually spike the punch like they do at parties in movies?

“I don’t know, dumbass,” Kageyama scoffed, amused. “I’ve been to as many parties as you have.” His pace beside Hinata’s was graceful, measured. Very Kageyama-like.

They were able to find the answers to those questions pretty quickly when they came upon the frat house, with light emitting from every window and a soft ‘thud’ coming from the building itself—the bass accompanying the music playing inside. People loitered in the front and on the stops, already striking up conversations.

“This isn’t crazy,” Kageyama said as they entered the doorway.

“Well, it’s still pretty early, right?” Hinata asked, looking around as he ignored the loud music that thumped from a pair of speakers. 

Setting off to find the kitchen, he tugged Kageyama behind him. He didn’t know why; it was a habit he’d formed, started when they would walk together and there would be so many things to see but Kageyama would just be too slow, so he’d pull on his sleeve just to get the other to match his pace. Hinata would say something like _how do those long legs walk so slow?_ and receive irritated protests in response. But Kageyama didn’t seem to mind, or notice it, anymore.

The kitchen was full of people. Some with pizza on paper plates, some with cans of beer. And one very familiar black-and-white head of hair setting up a keg.

“Bokuto,” Hinata and Kageyama greeted in unison, Kageyama polite where Hinata practically shouted in his excitement.

At his name, the party host turned around, beaming at them. “Hey hey hey, Karasuno crew!” He clapped strong hands onto their shoulders. “Glad you could make it. Welcome to your first real college party, and probably the best you’ll ever go to!”

“I wouldn’t be too sure,” came Akaashi’s smooth voice, light with amusement as he entered the kitchen. “Kuroo should really be here to keep you in check.”

“Aw, Akaashi!” Bokuto whined. “Don’t embarrass me in front of my guests.”

“Sorry,” Akaashi said, though he didn’t sound sorry at all, the word lilting with amusement. But he still placed a kiss on Bokuto’s cheek before exiting, leaving Bokuto grinning after him.

The display made Hinata blush. He had no idea why—he’d already known that Bokuto and Akaashi were together, but seeing such open affection between them did something to make his chest flutter. It was then that he realized that he was still holding on to Kageyama’s wrist, and he let go of it discreetly, faking sweaty hands, wiping them on the bottom of his shirt. “Thanks for inviting us.”

Bokuto gave a hearty laugh, inviting them to help themselves to drinks from the cooler, before excusing himself to perform hostly duties.

“So they’re a _couple_ couple,” Kageyama said awkwardly, picking up two cans of beer from the cooler, handing one to Hinata. “I felt like I was watching Suga and Daichi.”

“Yeah, like mom and dad,” Hinata joked, before accepting the beer and cracking it open. As soon as the taste hit his tongue, his face crumpled in disgust. “Ugh, I forgot how gross this tastes.”

“You don’t have to drink it,” Kageyama pointed out.

He squinted suspiciously. Kageyama had no problem drinking it, and he definitely wasn’t going to lose to Kageyama. “I can handle it!” To prove it, he took a big swig with utmost confidence. But then his eyes widened and he had to force himself to swallow it down, thumping a fist to his chest before coughing briefly. Kageyama’s smirk and raised eyebrow definitely didn’t help his ego. “S-see! Used to it already.”

“Don’t get drunk, idiot.” Kageyama scolded, his face getting all crinkled with (could it be worry?) annoyance.

Hinata pouted. One thing that had never changed about Kageyama was his use of mean nicknames. What he’d give for the other to just call him Shoyou for once. He could initiate it by first calling Kageyama “Tobio,” but he had no interest in getting his butt kicked, especially not at this party teeming with cooler upperclassmen. 

“I won’t get drunk!”

“Quit yelling.”

And then Hinata insisted—more quietly—that he was definitely not yelling, something was just wrong with Kageyama’s ears. And they fell into another argument, which somehow turned into a discussion on the upcoming volleyball season. And before he knew it, he was on his second can of beer and the kitchen thrummed with voices around them. As they talked, more guests started to arrive, filling the house with laughter and more music.

“Hinata,” Yamaguchi appeared from the thick of the crowd, “I want to get a drink. Come with me?”

Hinata agreed without even thinking about it. They navigated their way through the crowd until they circled back to the cooler. Hinata chattered a bit about the party, before he noticed Yamaguchi staring off into the distance, thumb pressed to the corner of his mouth.

“Is everything okay, Yamaguchi?”

The question seemed to startle him back to reality, eyes returning to focus. He smiled apologetically at Hinata. “Yeah, I just...I was wondering if I could talk to you about something?”

Hinata nodded, immediately stepping closer to talk about what he assumed was a very private matter. “Sure, anything.”

“Uhm,” Yamaguchi began, shifting his beer can from one hand to the other, “I...really like Tsukki. But I’m too scared to tell him.”

“Yamaguchi,” Hinata said seriously, “the entire world has known that you like Tsukki since forever.”

The other broke into a stutter, cheeks turning red. “W-well he doesn’t know, okay?”

He couldn’t help but break into a laugh, touching his shoulder reassuringly. “You’d think that he would, since he thinks he’s so smart.”

“He _is_ smart.” Yamaguchi insisted as Hinata took another sip of beer. “But that’s not the point. I thought maybe you could tell me how you and Kageyama got together.”

 _PBBBBT!_ The mouthful of beer flew out of Hinata’s mouth. Luckily, he’d turned his head away before spraying it directly on Yamaguchi’s face. 

“You think—” he paused, coughing, “me and—a-and Kageyama—” a hand thumped at his chest, “—together?!”

“Well, yeah,” Yamaguchi said, looking over him in concern. “You guys are always together, and I saw you holding hands earlier—”

“We weren’t holding hands.” He insisted, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. “It was just—it’s crowded in here, y’know.”

Yamaguchi tilted his head, a knowing smirk crossing his lips. “So, you’re not together?”

“No!”

“But you still like volleyball?”

“What?” Hinata blinked. “Of course.”

“And your hair is orange?”

“Yes, Yamaguchi!”

“And you like Kageyama?”

“Yeah, God, I—” Hinata paused, blinking. Wait—

“PFFFFT-” Yamaguchi had already broken into laughter, clutching his sides.

“Hey, you tricked me!” Hinata was definitely red now, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“I did not!” He insisted shakily, leaning on the counter for support as more peals of laughter escaped him. “Hinata, you like him.”

Hinata glared at Yamaguchi. He was pretty sure he’d just POOF! into a strawberry soon. “I—I do not.” His eyes shifted around now, to see if anyone was listening. But no one paid any attention and the party continued around them. 

“Never mind,” Yamaguchi snorted. “Clearly, you have some shit to figure out.” He gave Hinata a quick pat on the back, before disappearing back into the party.

“Uuuuugh,” Hinata groaned, running a hand over his face. How could Yamaguchi think that he liked Kageyama?! Just because they spent almost all of their time together and Hinata was always touching him. That didn’t mean anything! That’s what friends did, right? 

...Though, if he thought about it, he never really touched Kenma that much. Or Yachi. Or Lev. Or any of his other friends.

No one got him worked up like Kageyama, he could admit that. There was just no one like Kageyama period! Kenma was a great setter, sure, but he couldn’t set up a volleyball with the same pinpoint accuracy AND give Hinata that over-the-wall view that he so deeply craved. Kenma didn’t get that crazy intense look in his eyes during games. Kenma didn’t have those pretty blue eyes.

There he went, thinking about Kageyama’s eyes again! He tugged on his earlobe in frustration, a habit he'd developed after getting his ears pierced. Did Yamaguchi... maybe have a point?

“Well I don’t want to think about it!” He declared to himself, chugging the rest of his beer, before going back to the living room to find his friends.

“Hinata,” Kageyama said with that wrinkle between his eyebrows, “where have you been?”

“Uhm.” It took him a moment to register the question, alcohol clouding his system. “In the kitchen! Why?”

“Nothing. It’s just—you’ve been gone for a while.” Kageyama gave him a once-over, as though inspecting him for missing limbs. 

“Well, I’m here now.” He beamed. “I love this song! Let’s go dance.”

♠

Before Kageyama could protest, he was pulled out onto the “dance floor” (really just the area of the house closest to the speakers) by Hinata. Small hands tugged at his own, insisting that they dance to “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran immediately.

When Hinata was satisfied with their place in the crowd, he beamed up at Kageyama, who had to stop himself from immediately clutching his chest because he was so _weak._ Why the hell was this so unfair anyway? First, Hinata had to wear that ridiculously big shirt and make himself look just plain adorable (Kageyama couldn’t help but imagine that his own shirts would look similar on Hinata), and now Hinata just casually invited him to dance to a famously romantic (sexual?) song.

“I don’t even know how to dance,” he said, looking around helplessly at the moving bodies around them.

“I don’t either.” Hinata laughed, nonetheless swaying side to side with the beat. Naturally good at it, the way he was good at everything he tried. “Just—just try moving around! With the music.”

Kageyama tried to take his advice, but it was useless. His limbs moved around awkwardly, looking more like he was (poorly) imitating a robot than dancing. This only seemed to be a bigger source of amusement to Hinata, who laughed, and took his hands again.

“Okay, ‘Yama. Just follow my lead.”

And he took Kageyama’s hands and placed them on his hips and Kageyama thought he might die then and there. “Like—like this?” He internally cursed himself out for stuttering.

“Yeah.” Hinata smiled, unphased. That easy smile that always made Kageyama lose focus on what he was doing. Including right now, when he stepped on Hinata’s foot.

“Oh my God, you’re hopeless.” Hinata laughed. “I need to put you on a tighter leash.” And then he put his arms around Kageyama’s neck and Kageyama thought that he would really die because they were so _close._

His eyes landed on the ground, trying to not step on Hinata’s foot again—

“Hey!” Hinata said, face scrunching up into a disapproving pout. 

God, Kageyama could just kiss him right then and there. But he didn’t. 

“Don’t look at your feet. Just look at me.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. At first, he stared at Hinata awkwardly (who did not seem to notice, or at least care about, his state of discomfort) and worried he’d make both of them topple over. But as the song went on, and Hinata took control of their movements, he relaxed into the music. Somehow, they ended up in sync, as they always did, moving to the rhythm together.

Something about the way the lights hit Hinata’s eyes made them look...different. They always caught Kageyama’s attention—bright and expressive, striking frustration or deep admiration in his heart. But now, they looked like pools of melted chocolate and they made his heart flutter in his chest. Really, all of Hinata was warm—his cheeks were flushed a faint pink and the tips of his fingers twinged with heat where they met Kageyama’s nape. He could feel his own skin heating up more when one of those hands traveled down to his chest, resting dangerously close to his heart. He didn’t want Hinata to feel how fast it was beating. “Hinata—”

“Hm?” The other immediately hummed, bottom lip caught between teeth, those melted chocolate eyes turning his insides to goop.

“I...uhm.” His train of thought had already vanished as he tried to get away from those eyes, down his freckled nose to that lip he was still biting. How many times had Kageyama imagined tasting those lips? “I—”

♠

“Kageyama!” Lev stumbled into them, alcohol strong on his breath. His movement wasn’t technically enough to break them apart, but he had shattered the spell around them, and they split from each other. 

Hinata looked between them uneasily.

“What, Lev?” Kageyama asked in irritation. 

Hinata crossed his arms, trying to not look as bad as Kageyama, though he knew that he was probably failing. Why did his roommate have to interrupt at a time like now?

“Dude, some girl was looking for you,” Lev grinned, narrowing his eyes knowingly. “She said she wanted to ask you about volleyball but I dunno if that’s what she’s after~”

“Well…” Kageyama’s eyes shifted to Hinata, and his heart got stuck in his throat. “...I guess I can go talk to her for a minute.”

“Whoo!” Lev clapped him on the back. “Get ‘er, tiger.” He turned, winking at Hinata. “Want me to find a girl for you too?”

“Lev.” Hinata groaned, dragging him back to a couch nearby. To his surprise, Kenma was seated on the black leather behemoth, though he was playing on his Switch. 

“Kenma,” he said desperately, scooting in close, “Lev cockblocked me.” The words had left his mouth before he could take them back.

Kenma raised an eyebrow. “From who?”

“From…” He looked around, leaning in closer to Kenma’s ear to whisper, “Kageyama.”

Kenma’s eyes widened. “You were making moves on Kageyama?”

“I don’t knoooow.” Hinata hid his face in his hands. “Maybe I had too much beer? We were really close, and...I don’t know…” All he knew was that his heartbeat was still echoing in his ears. 

“Well, if you really like him, then you should tell him.” Kenma said, his nose wrinkling in distaste at a couple who was grinding on each other across the room. “I think he likes you too.”

“Really?” His gaze immediately lifted to Kenma’s, before he looked away in embarrassment. “How do you know?”

He shrugged. “I can just tell.”

Well he couldn’t argue with that. Kenma was really good at noticing things. “What should I do? I don’t want to say something stupid…” He trailed off, trying to think about what people did in movies before they talked to their crushes. “Oh, I know! I’ll get another drink.”

“Shoyou—” Kenma called after him, but he was already vanishing back into the kitchen, where he slammed down a shot of vodka that made him shudder. It only occurred to him afterwards that it may have been a bad idea because he had to grip the counter to keep from swaying.

But he did feel kind of good! Like fire was burning through his veins. Sure, his words came out a little funny when he spoke, but that wasn’t important right now. What was important was seducing Kageyama!

How did people do it in movies? They took their clothes off, but he couldn’t do that now, at the party. What else? They winked. He tried winking, and ended up closing both of his eyes, so that was also off the table. They…they made the other person jealous. He could do that! Hinata held up a hand to high five himself.

Now all he had to do was find Kageyama. But he ended up not having to go too far, because Kageyama was already looking for him.

“Did you drink more?” He immediately asked upon seeing Hinata.

“Jus’ a little bit!” He chirped, pretending that he didn’t just slur his words. “How was...the pretty girl?”

Kageyama looked at him confusedly. “Who, the volleyball girl? She wasn’t that pretty."

“Hmph! Anyways.” Hinata returned to the couch, once more scooting in next to Kenma. “Kenma and I were just having a suuuuper fun time here. Right, Kenma?”

Kenma looked up at him in a mixture of confusion and amusement. “Right?”

“Yeah! We were just talking about how, uhm, he’s super famous.” He wrapped an arm around Kenma’s shoulder, which was an unnatural movement for both of them. And Kageyama, too, apparently, since his shoulder’s stiffened. Good. It was working.

“I’m not really that famous, Shoyou.” Kenma shook his head. His voice was calm but he eyed the other warily.

“Aw come on, Kenma! You’re like, the coolest guy ever.”

Kenma opened his mouth, maybe to argue, but Hinata didn’t want to risk Kenma accidentally cockblocking him, too. So he did the first thing that came to mind—he kissed Kenma.

He was gently pushed off in about two seconds, but the job had already been done. He looked around stupidly to catch Kageyama’s reaction, but all he saw was the other back retreating into the crowd, heading for the door-

“Kageyama!” He yelled, hopping off of the couch to follow after him. “Wait—”

By the time he reached the front door, he was greeted by nothing but the cool air of the night and darkness.

♠

How could he be so stupid as to fall in love with Hinata?

Hinata was an idiot, after all. He jumped all over the place, had a one track mind, was so stubborn—he would never give up trying no matter how many obstacles he was faced with, had crazy reflexes that no one could replicate, had that stupid smile that could turn Kageyama red in one second—

He paused, leaning against a brick wall. These weren’t really sounding like insults.

It must have been the alcohol in his veins, making it harder for him to think. Making his head hurt and his chest ache. He gulped in cold air, not even realizing that he’d been holding his breath. “Fuck you, Hinata.” It was all he could do to pull himself together and make it home. 

He woke up the next morning still in his clothes, laying on top of his blanket. “Ugh.” He’d forgotten about his alarm; obviously, the blaring tune didn’t care whether he was asleep or not. Bleary-eyed, he lifted his phone to his face to shut it off. And saw a whole barrage of notifications waiting for him:

**[12:01 AM - missed call from Dumbass Hinata]**

**[12:02 AM - missed call from Dumbass Hinata]**

**[12:05 AM - voicemail from Dumbass Hinata]**

**[Text from: Dumbass Hinata] answer ur phone!! >:(**

**[Text - 12:07 am] dont be a jerk**

**[Text - 12:13 am] kageyama!!**

There were probably fifty more notifications like that. Groaning, he resisted the urge to slam his head into the wall. Why had he stormed out like that? How was he supposed to explain why he’d been so mad without revealing that he liked Hinata? 

“Such an idiot.” He smacked a hand into his own face.

Could he avoid Hinata? Well, he’d already been doing that...Better to call the dumbass before he got the idea to ram down Kageyama’s door.

[Calling...Dumbass Hinata]

♠

Hinata groaned. The upbeat melody of his ringtone did nothing to soothe the pounding in his head. Upon entering consciousness, he immediately decided that he would never drink another drop of alcohol ever again.

It took him a few seconds before he remembered why he’d woken up—to answer his phone—and he lifted it to his ear tiredly. “Hello?”

“...Hello?” Came a deep voice from the other end. There was something familiar about it…

“Kageyama!” Hinata yelped, immediately sitting up, before regretting the action, holding his pounding head.

“You sound terrible.”

“You’re so mean.” Hinata whined, settling back against his pillow. “You woke me up and now you tell me I sound terrible?”

“Oh,” Kageyama said, before mumbling out what sounded like an apology.

“Anyways,” Hinata said, looking up at his ceiling. “Are you okay? You didn’t answer me after you ran off last night. I didn’t know if you got home safe.” 

Immediately after Kageyama ran out, Hinata had tried to look for him, only to be pulled back inside by Kenma. He’d agreed to sit down and stop crying (yes, he’d started crying) if Kenma let him call Kageyama, who’d never answered his phone.

“My phone was on silent.”

“Ugh, I should have known.” Hinata rolled his eyes. “Your phone is always on silent.”

“Good thing it was or you would have kept me up all night with your drunk voicemails.”

Hinata felt his heart thud in his chest. “D-drunk voicemails? What did I say?” If he’d confessed to Kageyama, it would all be over for him.

Kageyama scoffed. “Hell if I know. You weren’t making any sense.”

“O-oh, really?” He laughed, relieved. 

“Wasn’t much different from listening to you sober.”

“Hey!” Hinata yelled. He was about to get worked up when he remembered why he’d been bothering Kageyama last night anyway. “Seriously, though. You left so suddenly. Are you okay?”

♠

“I’m fine.” Kageyama insisted, before pausing. Shit, he needed to come up with something. Why hadn’t he thought of an excuse before he called?

“Come on, you can tell me anything.” There was Hinata’s voice, full of trust as it always was. He always spoke with a sort of ease that Kageyama was envious of; words came so easy to him, and kind words came even easier. That one sentence alone made him feel like his heart wasn’t with him, it was resting in Hinata’s hands on the other end of the line.

Kageyama let out a long sigh. This was his chance to tell Hinata the truth. 

“I…” He trailed off, gathering the courage. “Had...diarrhea.” And then it was gone, his resolve crumpling under his tongue instantly. “And...and I didn’t want to shit in Bokuto’s house.”

A long moment passed as he began to sweat. Was Hinata going to call him out on his bullshit?

“—HAHAHAHA! YOU HAD TO POOP?!”

He held the phone away from his ear at the other’s explosive laugh attack, lungs exhaling in relief and constraining with regret at the lie. 

“Yes, idiot,” he spat. He was angry, but not by Hinata’s laughter. The source of his rage was the usual one: his own actions. “I-I’m not some kind of animal, like you. I can’t just—I can’t just shit anywhere!”

“Suuuure, Kageyama,” Hinata teased. “Y’know, you could’ve just told me you had to poop. I would’ve given you the stomach medicine I keep in my dorm.”

Ah, right. Because Hinata’s nerves always went straight to his gut, and then the toilet. “Right."

“You don’t still have diarrhea, do you?”

“N-no, dumbass!” He yelled, cheeks reddening. “I’m—everything’s fine now.”

“Good! Then you can study with me today.” He could hear Hinata smiling.

“Aren’t you hungover?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Hinata trailed off. He then added, more quietly, “I actually forgot about that for a minute.”

He scoffed. “How did you forget that you’re hungover?”

“I-I just—I dunno! Talking to you made me forget about it! A-anyways, text me when you’re coming!”

 _Click._ Hinata hung up.

♠

“Uuugh.” Hinata groaned, shoving a pillow into his face. “Why do I always say such weird stuff?” His eyes shifted to the journal he’d abandoned last night. Maybe it was time to give this whole poetry thing another shot.

Kageyama came over later in the afternoon, bearing blueberry smoothies to “help with his head” and burrito bowls to “keep him quiet instead of whining about how hungry he is” which he never did, so he had no idea what Kageyama was talking about. (Okay, maybe he did know!)

After being fed, they both settled on the floor of Hinata’s room, legs crossed and eyes poring over textbooks. It was the only time when he and Kageyama would be together and not argue.

“I’ve never seen you two so quiet,” Tsukishima had pointed out during one study session that they’d somehow convinced him to join. “When you’re together, you’re the loudest people in the room.”

“We’re not loud all the time.” Kageyama had insisted, kicking the blond’s foot under the table. “No one ever complains about us at the library."

“Remind me,” Tsukishima smirked. “What’s the point in studying together when you’re both dumber than the other?”

Hinata looked at Kageyama, before shrugging. “I dunno. I guess it’s just...nice? To study next to someone.” There was something therapeutic about hearing Kageyama’s quiet breathing, or the gentle tap of his pencil against his notebook when he was thinking. “Like, if I don’t get something and I look over and Kageyama is confused too, then I guess it’s...reassuring. It’s less lonely than studying alone.”

And he still felt the same way now, looking at the way Kageyama’s bangs settled over the crease in his forehead, eyes focused intently on the textbook in front of him. But then he figured that he should probably focus on his work instead of staring at Kageyama. (It was hard to even admit to himself that he’d been staring at Kageyama.)

He stuck his eyes back onto his history reading, hand doodling absently in his notebook as he took notes. When he’d written about a page worth of bullet points, he looked up absently to find Kageyama looking at him.

He tilted his head. “What?"

“Do you like Kenma?” The question seemed to rush out of the other.

“I—what?” Hinata felt his cheeks burning.

“You kissed him last night,” Kageyama pointed out, frowning.

“Yeah, so?” He looked away, willing his eyes to land anywhere except Kageyama’s face. “I—I was drunk. It was stupid.” He felt quite bad about it, actually—he’d already apologized to Kenma maybe a hundred times.

“But…” Kageyama said slowly, eyes still burning into him. “I heard that if someone does something while they’re drunk, it means they were thinking about doing it while they were sober.”

Hinata made a face. “I’d never kiss Kenma sober. I don’t think I’d do it again while drunk, either.”

“Oh,” Kageyama said, relaxing his shoulders. A pause. “You can tell me stuff, too, you know...Like if you like someone.”

Hinata’s legs immediately rose from the floor. He could not handle this topic right now! 

“R-right, of course. I-I have to go to the bathroom!” He awkwardly stalked off, pausing by his desk. 

_The journal!!!_ Glancing back at Kageyama, he very discreetly closed the notebook before leaving the room.

♠

Well that was weird. Even for Hinata, who was already a ball of weirdness. And why had he slammed that notebook shut before leaving?

Kageyama wwent over to Hinata’s desk. It was a mess, much like anything that got involved with Hinata—there were random papers and desk toys strewn about, like fidget spinners and an unsolved Rubix cube. And in the middle of the chaos sat the composition notebook with volleyball stickers on the front, labeled “Shoyou Hinata’s Creative Writing Journal.” So _this_ was the notebook for his poem class.

Curious, Kageyama flipped through the pages. Sure enough, early on, all the poems were about volleyball. But then he got to a section filled with crossed out words and doodles. Finally, he landed on the page titled “Poem #5 FINAL VERSION!!!”

His eyes traveled down to see the messy scrawl. It read:

_You turn my heart into a war zone.  
Every time I see you, it’s like  
BANG BANG BANG  
And I can't win.  
You shoot and set me on fire.  
Thinking about you  
Makes my skin burn.  
Who started all of this?  
Can I blame it on you?  
I always thought orange was the strongest color,  
But these brown flames in my eyes  
Don't burn as bright  
As your blue.  
I love to race.  
I love to win.  
But this time,   
I don't mind losing  
To you. _

He could feel his skin heat up as his eyes raked over the page again. Who the hell had this dumbass written a poem about? Who did Kageyama know with blue eyes and a competitive streak with Hinata? Who—

Oh. _Oh._ It was him.

Hinata had written a love poem about _him._

He was just about to decide what to do with this information when Hinata walked in.

♠

“Kageyama!” Hinata squealed, immediately yanking his journal off of the desk. “Why were you snooping through my stuff?!”

Kageyama turned to him with a look so sharp that he could almost feel it slice his skin. “Who’s your poem about?”

“I—” He gaped, feeling his face flare up. “I—I asked you first!”

Kageyama stepped closer, making him step backwards until his back hit the bedroom door. “Did you write your poem about me?”

Hinata thought he’d die right then and there. Every nerve in his body was standing at attention and Kageyama was close, too close. He was sure that his heartbeat was playing on a loudspeaker. “I—I, uhm—” He needed time to think. His own stupid poem had sabotaged him. It would make him lose Kageyama—

“Hinata.” The measured tone of his name snapped him out of his thoughts. He hesitantly looked to Kageyama, who was probably as red in the face as he was.

“Do you…” He was already regretting the question as it came out of his mouth. “Do you want it to be about you?”

Kageyama’s arms tensed up on either side of him. They were at a stalemate. Kageyama exhaled shakily, glancing off to the side.

“Don’t...don’t do this to me.” It was the quietest Kageyama had ever sounded. “I’ve liked you for so long, it’s—it’s infuriating.”

When Kageyama’s eyes locked onto his, he felt tiny arrows shooting into his heart. Swirling in those blue pools were a mix of emotions he’d never seen Kageyama wear before—love and anxiety and...desperation.

“Hinata…”

He couldn’t take it anymore. Hinata had been wanting—aching—to do it for years. He’d dreamed about doing it in the locker room after volleyball practice, in Hinata’s bedroom after watching a movie and Kageyama’s head sleepily fell on his shoulder, soft lips parted perfectly. He finally, _finally_ kissed Kageyama.

Kageyama melted right into him, wrapping arms around his waist in a way that turned his legs to jelly. Hinata had gone in for a peck, but Kageyama was already demanding more, sliding his tongue into Hinata’s mouth. Even now, he was pushing Hinata to do better.

He let out a quiet gasp. It was warm, and kind of wet, but he didn’t mind because Kageyama tasted like blueberries. He almost laughed at the fact that Kageyama even _tasted_ blue, but held back just because he didn’t want to pull away. His fingers tangled in silky black locks, every nerve in his body hot and _alive._

It was over all too soon when Kageyama pushed him off, gasping for air.

Though Hinata was no different, he found enough air in his lungs to speak. “I lasted longer than you!”

“No you didn’t, dumbass! I could have lasted longer, but I didn’t want you to die.”

His gaze met Kageyama’s steadily. “Rematch?”

“Bring it.”

He leapt into Kageyama’s arms. There was no place he’d rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> this piece kind of took on its own tone! i was definitely influenced by hinata x) legit i’ve never used so many exclamation points in a work before gbhjghjg.
> 
> an epilogue of sorts: Hinata got a B+ on his poem and Kageyama tried to write him one for their first date but it went so bad that instead he just gave Hinata a sunflower and said “this is you.”
> 
> thanks so much for reading! and thank you again to the wonderful [ley (@tsukkishookt)](https://www.instagram.com/p/B-p5ux2gVPM/) for the art <3
> 
> feel free to check out my:  
> [other fics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spadebrigade/works) | [carrd](https://spadebrigade.carrd.co/) | [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/spade.yy/) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/spade_yy) | [tumblr](https://spadebrigade.tumblr.com/)


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